The Warbler Show ...

.. has not yet been canceled. 

Just this week we had ...

... a Northern Parula at the Back Bubbler, captured by the trial cam.

I tried to add this to eBird entering 0 (zero) for the Number of Observers, as that would be the actual count. Alas, that value must be one or greater. So I lied and entered 1.

There was also a non-cooperative Palm Warbler which I first spotted in the Crabapple Tree and then spent about an hour playing hide and seek with me in the Feeder Garden. A one day wonder. But still cool to see.

Brown Creeper

The other morning I spotted four species of woodpecker in the yard before I started my workday.

But the text I sent to Patty read, "Brown Creeper on the peanut butter tree."

Followed by a text with this image:

To which she astutely replied, "that's not a Brown Creeper."

And not it is not.

This is:

On the aforementioned peanut butter tree, taken a couple days later.

When I first spotted the Creeper I went to get the camera. But the Creeper had creeped away. 

And then the Pileated Woodpecker landed on the tree a dozen feet to the right. And there I was all dressed up and ready to go so to speak. So I swung the camera on the tripod and fired away.

Sometimes you get lucky. And thus started the four woodpecker morning.

Woodpeckers

Recall that last Christmas Eve one of our Weeping Willow trees fell over. And we 'planted' some of the branches and stumps. And then we raised the main trunk.

We did this hoping it would be attractive to wildlife, especially woodpeckers.

And one day this week ...

First up was a Northern Flicker.

Then a Downy Woodpecker.

And a Red-bellied Woodpecker on the 'slingshot'.

And then a Pileated Woodpecker on the other side of the slingshot.

And finally another Pileated Woodpecker on the main Willow Tree stump.

I was hoping for the other two woodpeckers we've had in the yard, Hairy Woodpecker (common) and Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (rare), and dreaming of a Red-headed Woodpecker (nearby). But it was not to be. 

Still, a four woodpecker day is a good day. Even more so when they're seen from the comfort of my living room, while working from home.

Life is good.

More Migration

Not every migrating bird pays a visit to our yard. Some just cruise by overhead. Like these Canada Geese (you'll need to bigafy the image to see them, and even then ...).

Heard before seen, it was the call that told me the species.

I've seen multiple flocks pass overhead while sitting on the deck, relaxing after a hard day at 'work'.

Not Nice Ms Nature!

The other day I had finished work and instead of sitting in traffic I was sitting on my deck, enjoying an adult beverage when the wind picked up and the sky behind me became very dark and threatening.

A gathered up my stuff and covered up the chair as the rain (and leaves) came down.

Stopping only to snap a few pics.

It sure does look like Ma Nature is giving me the finger ...

Winter is Coming

One of the reasons for the Warbler Show is that the birds are migrating. And luckily for us, and you dear readers, is that migration goes through our yard.

The Warblers are heading for points south, some going as far as South America.

Other birds, like the two shown here, also migrate. And in this case our yard is the final destination. 

Patty spotted this species, White-throated Sparrow, in the yard a couple of days before I spotted them. This is one of the first I saw and I saw five that day.

I was the first to spot the return of the Dark-eyed Juncos. So far, I've only seen one at any one time. But it's just a matter of time until the rest of the flock arrives.

The arrival of these two species is a sure harbinger of winter. 

And given that we had to turn the heat on this week, with overnight temps dipping in the the thirties Fahrenheit, it seems winter is here.

They're Back

Speaking of migration, every year around this time these critters appear in the yard, stay for a few weeks, and then are gone.

I don't know where they migrate from, nor where they migrate to.

But they are here. And it is another sign the winter is coming.

Mind Wandering

I recently found myself in a church, the one two blocks from the house I grew up in. The one where my mom sang in the choir. And where I spent many a Sunday bored to tears for about an hour.

While trapped in a pew I would spend time looking around, day dreaming, and wondering about an optical illusion.

This is the alter as it is today, a bit more open and bright than when I was a school kid.

The illusion has to do with the brown arch at the top of the image.

Or is it a white arch?

At either end of the arch is a corner piece. Sometimes it appears brown and concave. And others, white and convex. At least to me. And has since I was in grade school. How does it appear to you?

🕯  🕯  🕯  🕯  🕯

There was another optical puzzle to occupy my time on this visit.

Look at the candle shadows in the image below (bigafy for best results).

The shadows for the right three candles appear "solid" while those for the left three have a dark center with lighter edges. Curious. The key for me to solve the puzzle was the leftmost candle on the right side. It has a shadow lighter than the other two.

That's because it is only one shadow, from a light to its right, whereas the other two are shadows from two lights, on on the left and one on the right, and from two candles. It just so happens that the geometry of the situation, for the candles on the right, is such that the shadows overlap. So for the shadow to the left of the middle candle, it is the shadow of the middle candle from the light source to the left and the shadow of the right most candle from the light source on the right. The leftmost candle on the right side does not have a candle to its left, so the leftmost shadow is from only one candle.

If you look at the base of the candles on the right, you can see the double shadows as the back wall juts out a bit, and the geometry is no longer such that the shadows overlap.

Here is a text based schematic diagram:

                                                  Double

                         Shadow             Shadow

                                \                      /\

                                  \                  /    \

                                    \              /        \

                                      \          /            \

                                        Left              Middle

                                      Candle            Candle

                          

                   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

                            ^            

                            |    gap between lights and candles

                            v

                   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

                Left Light                                                Right Light 

                   Source                                                       Source

For the three candles on the left, the lights and candles don't quite line up, so the overlap of the shadows is not complete. Thus the dark center to the shadows, that's the overlap.

The Warbler Show

The final episode this season?

Maybe.

Starring a Pine Warbler.

I've still got images to go through, so there may be more Warbler Shows to come ... 

The Not a Warbler Show

My Mom hates squirrels.

I wonder how the birds feel.

🐿  🐿  🐿  🐿  🐿

In my younger days, growing up, a squirrel or squirrels, chewed through the fuel line of my Mom's car while it was parked in the driveway. Dad's car, parked right next to it, was left untouched. And then, when my parents were redoing the kitchen, squirrels had nested in the attic. This in itself was a bad thing (talk radio blasted from a boom box got them to leave, but the damage was done). And one day, when the walls had been removed from the kitchen, a squirrel came crashing down from the attic, onto the kitchen counter, just as my Grandmother was making her breakfast. The resulting commotion, and screams, ensured everyone else was awake that morning.

The squirrel wasn't all that happy either.

Ducks on a Coin

Alas, I know not which species.

You can see the other bird coin posts here and here.

Kersplash!

On the same day that this happened, this happened:

Incoming!

Splash!

And then, a bit of a splashing competition ...

Lots of action at the bird bath.

Meanwhile at the Back Bubbler

I just recently set the trail cam up by the back bubbler and the for first week I had it aimed wrong.

Whoops.

So I reset it and checked it after a day.

And there were two birds of note. And if I recall correctly, both are first timers at the back bubbler, although not to the yard.

The, or should I say (write?) "a" Blackpoll Warbler made an appearance.

And then what we think is a Swamp Sparrow stopped by.

And while the camera is still not quite aimed correctly, I still managed to capture a couple of good birds.

National Drink Beer Day

(From the "I forgot to post it" department ...)

🍺  🍺  🍺  🍺  🍺

A real holiday. Its' on the interwebs even!

So to celebrate I combined two of favorite things.

Beer and Birds.

I hope you enjoyed one (or more!) of your favorite brews.

Until next year (Ha! Yeah right.)

The Spider and the Flies ...

Lots of flies.

Friday morning I noticed quite a few tiny insects flying around outside my office window. 

Not the first time ...

And then, from my desk, I saw the scene in the image above. 

A spiderweb covered in dew. 

In the afternoon? Wait what? That's not dew!

It's the flies!

If you look closely at the upper left you'll see some flying around (along with a flower fly).

There were so many ...

... they broke the web!

That spider hit the jackpot!

Yeehaw!

Drama at the bird bath. A Northern Parula and an American Redstart.

I'll just let the pictures tell the story.

Yeah, I don't know what went on here.